Canada and the World
Current Events with a Canadian Perspective
Last update
28 September 2011
Family Reunification
in Immigration Policy
Many immigrants settling in Canada,
do so as part of a family unit
Slightly more than third of the people settling here between 2001 and 2010 came in on the strength of their family relationship with someone who came with them, or who already lived here.
The recent trend has been to select potential immigrants for their skills rather than family connections. In 2010, the most recent year for which statistics are available, 33.5% of permanent residents were admitted for family reasons.
How to Get into Canada
To a large extent, Canada’s regulations dictate how people will move here. There are two strategies:
- They can come as a family unit; or,
- On their own and send for the rest of the family later.
Ben Ho
Between 2011 and 2010, more than half of all immigrants came alone in the economic class.
To sponsor family members applicants must be at least 18 years of age and Canadian citizens. The sponsor must provide a “signed undertaking to the minister of Citizenship and Immigration that you will provide for the basic requirements (such as food, accommodation, and clothing) of the person you are sponsoring and accompanying family members for a specified period.”
Those being sponsored have to be close family members—spouse, son, daughter, parents, or grandparents. Third cousins, twice removed can’t be sponsored.
People coming in through the family reunification program must also prove to an immigration officer that they are of good character and that they meet Canada’s health standards.
Studies show that family class immigrants often have more difficulty settling in. This is mostly because they are less likely than independent immigrants to speak either of the official languages and usually have fewer job skills.
Economy Dictates Immigrant Numbers
In 1985, the brakes were applied to skilled workers. There was a high level of unemployment in the country at the time, so bringing in more workers would only have made the problem worse.
So, for several years, virtually the only way of getting into Canada was to come under the family reunification program. Under this scheme, immigrants already established in Canada may sponsor their spouses, children, or parents.
There was an economic boom in the late 1980s. With companies hiring again, the emphasis in immigration shifted to independent migrants, with a smaller number of family reunifications.
When the economy tanked in the early 1990s, the immigration pendulum swung back towards family migrants.
Since the beginning of this century, Canada’s economy has been outperforming almost every other industrialized country. The immigration system can’t seem to meet the demand for skilled workers, so family reunifications are not a major priority.
Settlement Patterns
The place where immigrants come from has an effect on the living arrangements. People coming from Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, or Africa are the most likely to live with immigrants already established in Canada.
Europeans and Americans are much less likely to live with immigrants from a previous year.
However, love seems to be a huge motivation for Americans to move here. Both men
and women from the U.S. have a 50 percent likelihood of living in a spousal relationship
with a Canadian-
The same is true for only about 10 percent of European immigrants, and it is almost nil for people from elsewhere in the world.
Male immigrants from Africa are the most likely group to live alone in Canada. This suggests that they have trouble reuniting their families. This is probably because there is so much turmoil on that continent that families become scattered through refugee camps and lose contact with each other.
Women from Latin America and the Caribbean are the most likely group of immigrants to be single parents. They also have a higher probability of being the first arrivals in their family units.
Among migrants from other regions, it is more likely that the male will be the first to arrive, sending for their spouse and children later.
Image credits
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Melodi2
Sources
“Facts and Figures 2010 – Immigration Overview:
Permanent and Temporary Residents.”
Citizenship and Immigration Canada, August 30, 2011.
“Projections of the Diversity of the Canadian Population.” Statistics Canada, March 1, 2010.
© Canada and the World, September 2011
All rights reserved
1971 CENSUS
Total population:
21,568,310
Percentage of this number born outside Canada:
15.3%
Percentage of immigrants living in rural areas:
12%
Percentage of immigrants born in the
United Kingdom:
28%
born in Italy:
12%
born in Germany:
6%
Percentage of immigrants from “Asiatic Countries:”
4%
Percentage of the population that was of European origin:
97%
CHANGING
FACE OF CANADA
According to projections from Statistics Canada, by 2031, almost half of the population
of Canada above the age of 15 will either be foreign-
The agency also says that visible minorities will make up more than half of the population of Canada’s cities by 2031, meaning they will then form the majority in urban areas.
“The South Asian population [of Canada] is expected to at least double to between 3.2 million and 4.1 million within 20 years, Statistics Canada said. The Chinese population is expected to grow to between 2.4 million and four million, up from 1.3 million.”
March 2010